Pinch of federal spending cuts to be felt locally

Published: Tuesday, April 2, 2013 at 7:21 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, April 2, 2013 at 7:21 p.m.

Federal across-the-board spending cuts will impact local governments and other operations to varying degrees, a panel of experts said Tuesday.

At Sarasota Memorial Hospital, smaller Medicare payments will cost $20 million a year.

Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport may see delays in air traffic and longer lines at security gates.

And federal payments to Sarasota County for bonds used to finance construction projects may shrink, though not to a significant degree.

Local officials and national financial experts addressed the potential effects of the so-called sequester Tuesday at a forum sponsored by New College of Florida and the Global Interdependence Center.

National economists told the 100 attendees that federal budget cuts — $85 billion in all — have done little economic damage so far.

That appears to be the case in Sarasota County as well, although some will soon feel the pinch more than others.

David Verinder, chief operating officer at Sarasota Memorial, said federal payments for Medicare patients will be reduced by 2 percent in coming months.

Medicare and private insurance account for 90 percent of the hospital’s $650 million in annual revenues.

“We will lose $20 million a year on Medicare,” he said.

Sarasota-Bradenton president Fredrick “Rick” Piccolo, meanwhile, said the sequester will not reduce the number of arrivals or departures at the airport.

But passengers could wait longer for planes as flights from major hubs like Atlanta and Chicago are delayed by air traffic controller furloughs and other slowdowns.

Security lines could also become clogged if the Transportation Security Administration has to furlough workers or stop paying overtime, though Piccolo did not think it would be much of a factor at Sarasota-Bradenton.

“If the lines at Tampa get longer, it would show the advantage of using SRQ,” Piccolo said, referring to the regional airport’s call letters.

Sarasota County attorney Stephen DeMarsh said the sequester may cause a small reduction to the federal subsidy of the Build America Bond program, which the county used to help with the $31 million renovation to Ed Smith Stadium.

“We’ll survive it just fine,” he said.

Verinder said he is more concerned about how the hospital will cope with the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” which kicks in in earnest next year.

He said the program could shave Medicare payments by up to $35 million a year.

“That’s a tremendous amount of dollars we can’t absorb by doing nothing,” he said, noting the hospital has been working to cut costs in preparation.

Department of Defense furloughs will affect more than 71,000 personnel in Florida, said Natalie Cohen, head of municipal research at Wells Fargo Securities.

That will feel like a 20 percent pay cut for some of them, she said, and the economies of Florida cities with large military operations, in turn, may be hurt by less consumer spending.

<p>Federal across-the-board spending cuts will impact local governments and other operations to varying degrees, a panel of experts said Tuesday.</p><p>At Sarasota Memorial Hospital, smaller Medicare payments will cost $20 million a year.</p><p>Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport may see delays in air traffic and longer lines at security gates.</p><p>And federal payments to Sarasota County for bonds used to finance construction projects may shrink, though not to a significant degree.</p><p>Local officials and national financial experts addressed the potential effects of the so-called sequester Tuesday at a forum sponsored by New College of Florida and the Global Interdependence Center.</p><p>National economists told the 100 attendees that federal budget cuts — $85 billion in all — have done little economic damage so far.</p><p>That appears to be the case in Sarasota County as well, although some will soon feel the pinch more than others.</p><p>David Verinder, chief operating officer at Sarasota Memorial, said federal payments for Medicare patients will be reduced by 2 percent in coming months.</p><p>Medicare and private insurance account for 90 percent of the hospital's $650 million in annual revenues.</p><p>“We will lose $20 million a year on Medicare,” he said.</p><p>Sarasota-Bradenton president Fredrick “Rick” Piccolo, meanwhile, said the sequester will not reduce the number of arrivals or departures at the airport.</p><p>But passengers could wait longer for planes as flights from major hubs like Atlanta and Chicago are delayed by air traffic controller furloughs and other slowdowns.</p><p>Security lines could also become clogged if the Transportation Security Administration has to furlough workers or stop paying overtime, though Piccolo did not think it would be much of a factor at Sarasota-Bradenton.</p><p>“If the lines at Tampa get longer, it would show the advantage of using SRQ,” Piccolo said, referring to the regional airport's call letters.</p><p>Sarasota County attorney Stephen DeMarsh said the sequester may cause a small reduction to the federal subsidy of the Build America Bond program, which the county used to help with the $31 million renovation to Ed Smith Stadium.</p><p>“We'll survive it just fine,” he said.</p><p>Verinder said he is more concerned about how the hospital will cope with the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” which kicks in in earnest next year.</p><p>He said the program could shave Medicare payments by up to $35 million a year.</p><p>“That's a tremendous amount of dollars we can't absorb by doing nothing,” he said, noting the hospital has been working to cut costs in preparation.</p><p>Department of Defense furloughs will affect more than 71,000 personnel in Florida, said Natalie Cohen, head of municipal research at Wells Fargo Securities.</p><p>That will feel like a 20 percent pay cut for some of them, she said, and the economies of Florida cities with large military operations, in turn, may be hurt by less consumer spending.</p>